Vinod Khanna banks on glamour, Modi wave to win Gurdaspur

Gurdaspur: Riding high on glam factor, the Gurdaspur constituency — 75 kms from Amritsar — is going to witness a triangular fight between the BJP’s actor-turned politician Vinod Khanna, the state Congress president and sitting Member of Parliament, Pratap Singh Bajwa and Aam Admi Party’s Sucha Singh Chhotepur. Yesteryear’s Bollywood star Khanna, who had been a three-term MP from Gurdaspur (1998-2008) — a Congress bastion, is back amongst his voters with his old charm, mouthing dialogues in his meetings and rallies. People gather in large numbers and make requests to hear Khanna speak the lines from his 1971 super-hit film Mera Gaon, Mera Desh – “Jabbar Singh ne do baatein seekhi hain. Ek, mauke ka fayeda uthaana. Do, dushmano ko naash karna (Jabbar Singh has learnt two things in life. One, to take advantage of the situation. Two, to destroy enemies). [caption id=“attachment_1498325” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Vinod Khanna. AFP[/caption] Taking advantage of the Modi-wave and his fan-following, he wants to take state Bajwa head-on by levelling charges against the latter of his inability to utilise the MP Local Area Development fund and remaining absent from this constituency. Khanna’s opponents are playing up his inaccessibility factor against him. On the other hand, Bajwa — a former minister and an experienced politician, is using the anger of the locals against the ruling Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) government, also BJP’s ally, in his rallies and this might act as an anti-incumbency factor for the SAD-BJP combine. But, his failure to keep his poll promises and bring any project in the constituency, in addition to making his wife contest the Assembly poll in 2012, may act as deterrents. But its the issue of drug menace that tops the list of concerns amongst the voters. “Since Gurdaspur-Pathankot are very close to India-Pakistan border, drugs are easily available here and the young generation is easily getting hooked to it. It’s a big menace,” says Romesh Sharma, project director, Red Cross Drug De-addiction centre, the only one of its kind in Gurdaspur. In their respective rallies & road shows, all the three major contestants have been blaming one another for the drug menace. While, the Congress has accused the ruling SAD for patronising the illegal business of drug that has flourished in its tenure, the BJP on the other hand alleges that it’s the failure of central agencies under the UPA government at the Centre to control the drug smuggling. AAP which relatively has a stronger presence here than at Amritsar, is playing the issue hard to gain mileage over its two chief opponents. “Wherever you go, even in the villages, you’ll find rampant use of drugs and it’s due to inaction of the state government, which is now a BJP ally. The Congress is neck dip into corruption at the Centre. The best option that we find here is the AAP and its candidate is down-to-earth and helpful,” says Harjinder Singh, a local footwear trader. But it’s not drugs alone. The other pressing issues like poor infrastructure, poor rail-road connectivity, sand-gravel mafia, lack of educational and medical facilities have seriously been bothering the electorate of this constituency. Anti-incumbency, therefore, can’t be ruled out. Despite being one of the oldest districts of the country that was carved out during the Partition in 1947, there is only a single rail track between Amritsar and Pathankot that passes through Gurdaspur; it has been in existence since the days of the British Raj. The people of the constituency blame it on the politicians, who run ensure that the rail route is not developed in order to keep their business flourishing. The nearest airport is at Pathankot, which is 35 km from Gurdaspur district headquarters. Poor road and rail connectivity has adversely affected the industrial development and tourism in the region. As a result, there is lack of employment, which has led to a flourishing drugs trade with the frustrated youth taking resort to it. “Gurdaspur has grossly been neglected. Despite being one of the oldest constituencies, effect of political apathy is visible in every sector. So, there’s a need for a strong decision-maker at the Centre who can simultaneously think about the development of the states,” says Manjit Dala, a real estate developer. In his public meetings, Vinod Khanna has alleged that his rival had failed in bringing any industry, including the Rail Coach Factory, to the area. “Poor rail connectivity has virtually ruined the industrial prospects of this region. One of the oldest foundries at Batala, woollen mills at Dhariwal, Dina Nagar industrial area are almost finished,” says Batala-based entrepreneur Iqbal Saimi. Claimed as one of Asia’s oldest wetlands and India’s only community reserve declared as a wetland, Keshopur Chhamb in Gurdaspur has witnessed a decline in international tourists. The other historical centres are Kalanaur — where Mughal emperor Akbar was enthroned and Dera Baba Nanak — one of the most sacred shrines of the Sikhs associated with Guru Nanak Dev. “International tourists visit Amritsar but due to poor connectivity and lack of hotels, they don’t visit these historical sites,” says Satinder Singh, a petrol pump manager. Gurdaspur constituency has nine Assembly segments — Pathankot, Dina Nagar, Qadian, Batala, Fatehgarh Churian, Dera Baba Nanak, Gurdaspur, Sujanpur and Bhoa, with 14.72 lakh voters. Considering Khanna’s past works like building of a dozen major and minor bridges on river Beas, Ravi and Ujh that connected Gurdaspur with the rest of Punjab and free heart surgeries for poor patients, a major section of the electorate is hoping he would make it this time. Simultaneously, the winning prospects of AAP candidate Sucha Singh Chhotepur cannot be ignored, as he’s considered an honest, hard working and a popular leader among masses. In the past, he changed parties and was known as a ‘fundamentalist’. “He is accessible and helps anyone even in the mid of the night,” a group of citizens at Hanuman Chowk remarked.